Italian wine

Way back when I was 19 and Pinot Grigio wasn’t fashionable, a sommelier gave me a taste of some. I (an aspiring sommelier), asked him what it was supposed to taste like. He told me “bananas, and rustic country honey”. It was something cheap but at that stage relatively obscure, from the Friuli region in…

Greco di Tufo comes from Campania in southern Italy. It’s a region that was settled by the Greeks in ancient times, and because this grape is so established, it was originally believed to have come from Greece, hence the name “Greco” – but it’s hard to confirm the truth of this matter. The grape (Greco…

Valldobiaddene Prosecco isn’t just basic old prosecco. It’s a DOCG (Italian wine class system) from the finest areas of Veneto, and therefore a stamp assuring you it’s not total swill. It’s made from 100% Glera (that’s the real name of the Prosecco grape), produced in the Metodo Italiano, or Charmat method, which is simpler that…

Masi were the founders of a technique in the Valpolicella area called Ripasso, and this wine, the Campofiorin is the one they first did it with. It’s been very successful, and you’ll see plenty of other examples around. Masi discovered that if they put the fermented juice of a fresh young Valpolicella red (Corvina, Rondinella…

This wine is made in the hilly region surrounding Jesi, a series of fortified villages (Castelli) near Ancona in the Marche region of Italy. The grape variety’s name translates as “little green one”, referring to the green tinge of both the grapes and the wine produced, and is also known as Trebbiano di Soave, Trebbiano…

This is the same grape variety as Garganega, a variety we see in Soave, and a few other synonyms as well. This particular one is made in Sicily however, and known by its local name. For many years it was believed that the two grapes were different, as the flavours are so completely polar due…

Chardonnay pretending to be Sauvignon Blanc, my husband said. He’s no dummy. There’s Chardonnay in it (a little), and it’s very aromatic. The main variety however is Grecanico, which is also known as Garganega, the main variety in Soave. However it’s got an entirely different flavour spectrum when produced in the warm and sunny region…

There’s a whole heap of Soave out there that makes it hard for any decent producer in the region to charge a reasonable amount for their product. It’s a bit like all that $5 Australian Chardonnay, in that it’s created a niche for itself that is broadly “tastes OK for a cheap wine”. And so,…

It’s Trebbiano, Jim, but not as we know it. There are some who would say it’s not Trebbiano at all, but something else, closer to Vermentino, but not quite that either. Lugana is a tiny region that runs along the shore of Lake Garda in Veneto, and there are a couple of wines styles from…